Starting A New Garden Spot

My first big project for the garden will be putting in two new raised beds they will be 4 foot wide by 16 foot long. I am hoping to share this project with you. It's a long process for me because I do a little at a time, it takes several months.

 I am really debating going with block rather than wood in my new beds the price is similar and the block will last years longer. If my daughter did not expect Chrismas this year I would be setting the block right now. lol
 But the price is going to be a major factor for me and with most people these days. I will have to do this project a little at a time and on the cheap. I will start by gathering materials that I can get for free or at a very low cost. I can get sifted granite for almost free the cost will be for the gas picking in up.
 Doing this in order would be easier, get the lumber or brick then put it together, then get the fill material for the raised beds, but sometimes you have to get stuff when you can get it. I am probably going to end up going with the wood beds mainly because I can get it for free or almost free by salvaging it and hey I like that price. So the quest right now is find some wood material to salvage.
 In this article you should learn at least two things. The first will be that it is not that hard to put one of these things together and grow some awesome veggies and the second will be dang this guy is cheap he did not want to buy anything.

All right I was able to salvage a little wood to get this project going thanks to a couple of friends of mine it is January 29 th and I started this project in November I need to get this thing going a little faster lol.

 I was lucky enough to get several pieces of wood some eight foot long, four by four pieces for the price of picking them up which was a great deal because my buddy picked me up in his pickup and hauled me out there and helped me load them and unload the wood. WHAT a great PRICE Free works for me.lol

In this series of photos I am piecing the wood together doing a little measuring I want the inside of the bed to be four foot wide and I want the bed to be sixteen foot long.

Gardening With Rock Dust

    
“The yield of a crop is LIMITED by the deficiency of any one element even though all of the other necessary elements are present in adequate amounts”.
 J. Von Leibig's Law of the minimum.


   The soil is the most important part of gardening. Building a good soil is 90 percent of the battle.  A good soil  will be able to let the roots grow and draw in all the nutrition it can. So how do we start? That is the big question. Everybody has their own soil mix.
       A garden soil mix which I use is peat moss, compost, vermiculite and the local soil here which is sand and clay. I  like adding lots of rock dust, there are a few to choose from at a good nursery, at my nursery http://www.plantfairnursery.com/ I can get Azomite.   http://www.azomite.com They have a nice web site with great information. I have used it and I love it. It also works great in your watering cans for around the house a tablespoon of azomite desolved in your watering can really does amazing things for your house plants.  But for larger spots in your garden that can become a little pricey.
      Your local rock quarry is the place to go, don't laugh, I get what they call "fine millings" for about 20 bucks a ton, it's not a bad deal. There are several rock quarries in my area. I get a volcanic cinder that has been crushed as fine as sand. Another quarry not to far away has granite, I also try to get it as fine as sand as I can. I sprinkle a light layer on top of the bed.
        Rock dust is digested by earthworms and thereby combined with organic matter containing nitrogen, carbon, minerals and thousands of microorganisms, ultimately becoming organic mineral-rich plant food. The process is known as remineralization or to remineralize.
       Gravel dust improves aeration and structure and therefore prevents rotting. Gravel dust is assimilated even more quickly in compost than in poor soils.Compost and gravel dust are a symbiotic combination: the compost provides an excellent medium for the "microorganism population explosion" promoted by the dust, and the gravel dust will not only help create more organic matter, but will also help hold it in place, reduce odors and conserve it.  

       Soil needs to have everything a way to hold moisture but also to drain. Good structure but loose enough for the roots to roam. Good nutrition and lots of minerals A.K.A rock dust... that is a huge secret in gardening. It seems like the more rock dust I put in the better my garden does and once its in you will have a better garden by far . So, for you folks that have hit a wall and want try something a little different get a little rock dust in your garden....Don't be shy ten to twenty percent of your soil can be rock dust so lay it down heavy...your plants will love it.

       A wealth of information on rock dust can be found at  http://remineralize.org/ I highly recommend there site wonderful material on rock dust.